A JUNIOR school in Basingstoke has retained its ‘good’ rating following an inspection. 

Merton Junior School in Romsey Close, Popley Way, was inspected on November 9, 2022, four years after an Ofsted full inspection in 2017.

Ofsted praised the leaders of the school for identifying what knowledge they want pupils to know and the order in which it should be learned.

The report said: “Leaders consistently promote pupils’ personal development as well as their academic achievements. Pupils enjoy and appreciate the wide range of opportunities they have, such as competing in sporting competitions and performing as part of the school choir.

“They demonstrate care and concern for each other and for their world. Pupils are determined to recycle as much as they can. They collect money, food and gifts for local charities.

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“Leaders and staff have high expectations for all pupils’ achievement in a full range of subjects. They have built a curriculum that is ambitious, broad and well organised. Leaders have identified what knowledge they want pupils to know and the order in which it should be learned.”

The report also highlighted inconsistencies in the teaching of reading at an early stage as a shortcoming of the school.

The report said: “Consequently, some pupils struggle to read fluently. Leaders should ensure that all staff have secure subject knowledge and that the books these pupils read are precisely matched to their phonics knowledge.

“In a minority of subjects, the curriculum is not implemented consistently well. As a result, pupils do not always learn as much in these subjects as leaders intend. Leaders should ensure that staff have the training they need to implement the curriculum as intended in all subjects.”

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The last full inspection held at Merton Junior School was in June 2017.

When Ofsted has judged a school to be good, it will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

Ofsted does not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection.

However, if it finds evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.